Iran was better before the Revolution of 1979. Islam is the reason.

Since posting today's blog (about an hour ago) I've already had some feedback, that I'm "looking at it with Western values" or "America is bad too, it's responsible for a lot of world suffering" and so on... Firstly, looking at things with Western values is not my perspective. I'm critical of anyone who deserves it, whether it's Rick Perry in America and what affect that might have, or the previous Shah Monarchy in Iran pre-1979. My values are just about fairness.

Also, I'm not American, nor do I think America is perfect. It is, objectively, a fairer society than Iran though - even though it is far too Christian. My blog has nothing to with America. It's merely pointing out that religion (Islam) has quite recently (1979-now) become worse because of religious faith and those in power across the world (Europe) who acquiesce to actions for fear offending religion. If Iran's leader put these laws forward based on a shiny flying talking teapot I doubt we'd be so respectful.

Religion is a huge subject, and today's blog post is just one facet of a bigger argument.

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Firstly, the person who told you that nothing can be done about these countries is partially correct. I will put forth the proposition that "very Islamic countries cannot achieve equal rights for men and women". I say this because the problem is not with the people's practice of Islam but rather with Islam itself.

To achieve equal rights you have to practice Islam poorly OR Islam itself is to reform. Out of the two options the former is ironically more likely, because one of the cornerstones of Islam is that the Quran is to stay consistent over time. So, long story short, this all translates into a direct attack for a Muslim.

A Muslim will never be able to argue for a departure from religion, for that would be blasphemy itself. So even if the country is worse, by their own admission, they will never admit that its caused by religion. BTW when I say Muslim, I mean proper shar'ia following muslim, not a pseudo-Muslim who cherry picks what they want to practice.

Secondly, we all have values, and as you and to a degree myself are products of the west it is hard to argue against the "western value" claim. However, this does not negate your argument. To say that they have a different set of values as a counter argument implies that in their set of values they do NOT value equal rights. One can challenge the notion of equal rights and Islamic rights, questioning which is fairer. However I am not nearly as informed nor brave enough to enter such a debate.